Economic development, as a term, means different things to different people.
For some, it is one big corporate welfare program designed to give tax breaks to companies that then use them simply to enrich their shareholders. For others, it is a misguided attempt at industrial policy that is doomed to suffer the same failures as other planned economies. Most of us are somewhere in the middle.
Philosophically, there is some truth in both of the above viewpoints and, depending upon who is running a particular economic development program or a specific incentive program, there is a lot of truth in the substance, as well.
Let’s face it. Some people are just not very good negotiators, while others may not bargain in good faith. Still others in key positions are simply not very good at their jobs and wind up costing their organizations lots of money. This is true on both sides of the table: business and government.
| It’s difficult to be involved in economic development and be a pessimist. It is impossible to be successful in it while being a pessimist. Belief in the future, and in one’s ability to shape and mold that future, is at the heart of what being an American is all about. |
The important point to remember about economic development is that, at its heart, it is about optimism.
From the business side, it is based upon faith in the future of one’s business and in the ability to continue to grow and prosper in a particular geographic location. On the government side, it is all about creating a climate of prosperity that ensures a bright future for generations to come. In fact, economic development is, at its roots, about the survival of one’s community.
It’s difficult to be involved in economic development and be a pessimist. It is impossible to be successful in it while being a pessimist. Belief in the future, and in one’s ability to shape and mold that future, is at the heart of what being an American is all about.
For those of us in the economic development sector, the past four years have been pretty tough, as state budget deficits have cut dramatically into the resources once allocated toward business attraction and retention activities.
Fortunately, like most industry sectors, ours has proven over time to be cyclical, and there’s no reason to believe that this cycle will be any different from the others. The economy has been clearly on the upswing for the past couple of years, and tax revenues have been moving into state coffers at an ever-increasing rate.
That’s the way it always is with economic recoveries. Like any business, the road to recovery is virtually always found on the revenue — not the rate — side, and governments are no different. Ultimately, you can’t cut or save your way to prosperity; the only sure way out of dire economic circumstances is to grow your way out. That’s what we’re starting to see now.
Unfortunately, every economic downturn has its set of industry casualties, and ours is no different. In our case, it is the demise of one of our competitor magazines, Plants, Sites & Parks.
For more than 30 years, this once great publication has been a leader in the economic development field. In fact, a little more than 10 years ago, when the then-new staff of Expansion Management plotted our strategy on how we would overtake our four competitor magazines, we used Plants, Sites & Parks — then the No. 1 magazine in our field — as our standard.
Just like the old Michael Jordon commercial that urged us to “Be like Mike,” we figured that if we used PS&P as our benchmark, we would one day grow to be as successful as they were. It’s always a sound strategy to set oneself up against the best, and that’s what PS&P was.
Unfortunately, this once venerable magazine has fallen upon hard times and will soon be closing its doors. It’s always a bittersweet moment for those of us in the publishing business to see a great magazine fold, even if it was a competitor.
So, to our old competitors at Plants, Sites & Parks, we simply say, “Goodbye, Old Friend.”
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